Incluvie Foundation Gala - Learn More
These are all romance dramas, sue me, it’s my bread and butter.
Here is a list of ten Korean Dramas, ranked. And that’s hard ’cause I love all of these dramas.
Go Ha-jin travels through time during a solar eclipse during the Goryeo Dynasty in the body of Hae Soo. It is during a political upheaval surrounding the many princes of the time period that put Hae Soo in danger as she falls in love with both the 8th and 4th princes. This is a historical romance that will make you laugh, and cry all the way to the end. It ranks this high due to the unforgettable ending. If you like Bridgerton, or Outlander, it’s less spicy than those but nonetheless just a swoon-worthy.
Rent is expensive. So, Nam Se-hee seeks a roommate to split the apartment mortgage with. With his prickly and blunt manner of speech, Se-hee doesn’t keep roommates for long. That is until Yoon Ji-ho proves herself Se-hee best match for co-habitation in more ways than one. Cute. Well paced. MY HEART LITERALLY BURST! The main couple of this series is so awkward, and ultimately it showcases a refreshing take on the practicality of love.
Sung Deok-mi is a fangirl for White Ocean’s Cha Shi-an. While running a popular fan-site, she works as a talented chief curator for a Museum. After the old director is investigated for embezzlement, Ryan Gold becomes the new Art Director. Due to Deok-mi’s skill as a fangirl, fans belivie that she and Shi-an are dating. Ryan and Deok-mi begin fake dating to prove the lie. One step removed from being a Larry Shipper. Our FL (Female Lead) is an avid fangirl. She falls in love with her co-worker who lets her fangirl flag fly. It’s fun and sweet as candy.
Meeting first as kids and then again as adults. Cha Eun-ho and Kang Dan-i’s personal and professional lives are intertwined. Eun-ho harbors feelings for Dan-i long kept silent, Dan-i is fresh off a divorce, a single mother. Age gap relationship. Older woman, younger man. Slow burn. Friends to Lovers. This show has it all.
Each of these dramas deals with the pursuit of happiness and going for your dreams as young college students in a world not kind to dreamers. University Setting. Seeing kids fight for their dreams and experience love. What more could you want?
Once Jae-yeol and Hae-soo meet, there is much contention between them caused by their strong personalities and refusal to give in to each other. Jae-yeol and Hae-soo attempt to heal each other, as they learn that Jae-yeol’s mental health issues are more serious than they initially suspected. Omg! The acting in this one is amazing. Deals with Mental Health. More grown-up than the others on the list but worth the watch.
Do Min-joon is an alien who missed his chance to return home after saving a woman. Stuck on earth for four centuries causes Min-joon to become apathetic towards humans. Counting down to his depurate date, his new identity is a college professor. It is there he encounters a woman, Cheon Song-yi whose remarkable human flaws draw out Min-joon’s caring nature as he tries to keep her safe and prepare for his return home. Science fiction meets romance. The lore is woven into the story quite well. The ML is iconic in this room.
This drama portrays the story of an unlikely romance between a tomboyish woman, Go Eun-chan who dresses like a man in order to get work, and a young food empire mogul, Choi Han-kyul . It contains homoerotic elements, as the Han-kyul does not initially know of the Eun-chan’s true sex. Does this drama age well, debatable. I love it because at the time of airing it was the closest anyone of us (Korean drama fans) got to gay romance.
Cha Dae-woong accidently releases a nine-tailed fox, Mi-ho, she saves after he suffers a near-death experience by giving him her bead. Dae-woong and Mi-ho strike a deal to help each other. Mi-ho wants to be human and so her bead needs a human host for 100 days and Dae-woong needs the strength given by the bead to become an action star. What both are unaware of as they each strive to fulfill their goals is If Mi-ho becomes human, Dae-woong will die when she gets the bead back and if Dae-woong never gives back the bead, Mi-ho will die. Who could say no to her face, Shin Min Ah, is ever adorable.
Rich boy Gu Jun-pyo falls in love with the only girl telling him no, Geum Jan-di a poor scholarship student at their elitist day school. Its Lee-Min-Ho in his heyday. What’s not to love? It’s cute and very 2010s. Is this the best BOF adaptation? Absolutely not. It’s just iconic as it’s the first drama that got me hooked.
Related lists created by the same author
KIMI is the main character of this film and as much as I wish it was Angela Childs played by Zoe Kravitz, it isn't. KIMI is a smart device that works not unlike Amazon's Alexa and Google's Nest assisting in anything from home purchases to music playing all under the guise of only activating when in use.
Related diversity category
"Driveways" is a nuanced portrait of an Asian American family, touching on themes of loss, growth, and belonging.